Most Recent Posts
Tax Court Sorts Out Basis On Russian Fast Food Merger
The reason Mr. Testyn’s new argument doesn’t work is a kind of heads I win, tails you lose rule when it comes to “substance over form”. The IRS can argue that what you said you did – the form – is not what actually happened – the substance. You can’t generally do that yourself, because you got to choose the form, so you are stuck with it.
Mass Appeals Court Supports Revenue Department In Penalizing Paper Check
Something tells me that there is more at stake here than a lousy hundred bucks, because the Mass DOR appealed the ATB decision. And I am sorry to say that the Appeals Court of Massachusetts ruled in favor of Mass DOR. The Appeals Court was influenced by the fact that Mr. Haar had been warned when he used a paper check with his 2005 extension and had complied with the mandate when he sent in his 2007 extension.
Raw Story Uses Video Editing To Defame Kent Hovind
Fond as I am of the guy, I can't fault people for being critical of Kent Hovind. David Edwards of Raw Story has gone over the line though in his recent post on Hovind....
Family Partnership Valuation Discounts Approved By Tax Court
I find this decision particularly apt for opening 2016 although it would have been better for closing 2015, which it would have had I been a little more diligent. My second blog post ever over six years ago was a discussion of family limited partnerships, that hammered home the point that that good execution is critical with them starting with the post’s title – Devil Is In The Details.
How Much Is That Picasso In The Window? Tax Court Says Quite A Bit
The Picasso ended up selling for $12,297.874 (hammer price of $11,484,000 plus $1,443,874 paid by the buyer to Christies). Here is a video of the auction – In the Saleroom: Pablo Picasso’s Tete de femme (Jacqueline). It strikes me as pretty subdued and the numbers are a little less dramatic being in pounds and all. I found the bidding for Volume III of The Dial at Elizabeth’s Auctions more exciting, but of course it was my own seven hundred bucks that was in play there.
In case you can’t do compound interest in your head, that is appreciation of over 15% since 1981.
World Class Rider Does Not Insure Allowable Tax Losses In Horse Case
As I have mentioned often, everything I know about the horse business, I have learned from reading tax decisions. Conservatives of the Tea Party ilk believe they were targetted by the IRS for persecution. All I can say is they should be thankful they are not money-losing equestrian types. Interestingly, horse people often win in Tax Court, unlike Amway Independent Business Owners, who pretty much always lose.
Reading Boswell’s Life Of Johnson With James Gould Cozzens
Imagine being able to look over the shoulder of your favorite author as he reads a book that you and he both like. Well I just had a an experience a bit like...
Give’m Hell 54th – On Confederate Monuments In New Orleans
I met Michael Schaffner at the kick-off point of the sesquicentennial of the Harrisburg Grand Review of the United State Colored Troops in November. He and I had both...
Did You Hear The One About Bernie Sanders And Kent Hovind Walking Into A Tax Blog?
One of the things that is just a bit disconcerting to me is that the core of this blog ends up not being the most popular part. I at least look and read a high percentage of federal tax cases and also many state cases. In the process I uncover many stories that otherwise go largely unremarked. Those tend to not be my most popular posts, but I suspect that is what sustains my core readership. There are actually some valuable lessons in many of those posts. I have no intention of changing my ways, as I feel inclined to do all that reading to serve my clients anyway and I can’t resist sharing the really interesting stories even when they end up being seen by hundreds rather than tens of thousands.
Bernie Sanders And The 90% Income Tax Rate That He Does Not Call For
Republicans seem to alternate between a libertarian paradise or some sort of vision of how things must have been in 1795 when the Founding Fathers were still keeping an eye on things. Bernie Sanders wants us to have an economy like it was in the sixties and early seventies, when a summer of hard work could pay a year’s tuition and there were plenty of factory jobs that would support a family. Of course that post-World War II golden age might also prove elusive due to demographic changes and the rest of the world catching up with the United States.